homecooked dishes for health and happiness

hummus

You cannot beat jacket potatoes baked in the oven. The microwave versions really are not the same. I roasted the corn and red pepper at the same time as well as some butternut squash for later to make it worth putting the oven on. Fresh corn is plentiful in Turkish grocery shops in Berlin at the moment. I bought 6 ears for 2 euros.

For this hummus recipe I used half tofu, half chickpeas. It creates a very velvety consistency that you do not get with chickpeas alone.This hummus, corn combination could be put inside a wrap with extra chickpeas and slices of tofu.

Prick the potatoes with a fork and place on a tray in the oven with the red pepper and the ear of corn. Remove the corn and pepper after about 15 minutes. To make the hummus, place the chickpeas, tofu, red pepper, garlic, chilli, oil and coriander into the blender. Blend into a smooth paste, shaking the blender and stopping to stir if needed. You can also add a little water to get the mixture moving. Season to taste.
Remove the potatoes from the oven, cut crosses in them and spoon in the hummus. Remove the corn from the cob and sprinkle over the potato. Garnish with a little chopped coriander, spring onion and chilli.

Hummus is the quintessential vegan good. In our house we eat it almost every day. Even Dave, who is not given to much food preparation, has his own recipe. Hummus can be made in many different ways but here I use chickpeas that are used traditionally in the Middle East. Interesting that traditional recipes do not use olive oil but instead add much more tahina than we use at home. I think the olive oil really adds to the creamy consistency and, as a vegan, you have to get your calories somewhere.

You can easily double up on the quantities here for a larger number of people or if you are just greedy.
Makes one medium bowl
Total preparation time 10 minutes maximum

Ingredients
A tin of chickpeas
A tablespoon of tahina
At least a tablespoon of olive oil
2 teaspoons of lemon juice
A quarter of a small clove of garlic
Salt and pepper to taste

Blend all of the ingredients in a blender. You will need go shake it a few times or stop to stir. You can add a little water to get it moving if you need to.

I had half a roasted pumpkin left over from the Roasted Pumpkin and Walnut Salad. I also had an avocado that needed eating up. They are both quite rich foods so I was not sure about combining them. I was wowed by the results. The dip is rich and creamy but light and sweet too.

I blend the pumpkin with the skin left on but you can remove it if you prefer.

Makes a medium sized bowl
10 minutes total time not including roasting the pumpkin

Ingredients
Half a large baby pumpkin, roasted with the skin on and left to cool
A whole avocado
A tablespoon of tahini
A quarter clove garlic
A tablespoon of olive oil
2 teaspoons lemon juice
A little water
Salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Add a little water if necessary to get things moving. Serve with a sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds and paprika to red chilli powder.

On my ad-free cooking blog I only post recipes that people tell me they love - some are healthy, some are not, but they are all delicious! I record these recipes because I love to cook, and people tell me they appreciate looking at and trying out my recipes. Please write a comment if you have any thoughts about my posts so I know if I should keep experimenting with new recipes, documenting them, and paying to keep this blog advertisement-free. Thanks for the feedback! Enjoy!